


Just Watch Me Now

by thewritinggoblin



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Delilah Bard - Freeform, Gen, Magic, The Sarows, The pirate life is for her, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 09:29:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20871980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewritinggoblin/pseuds/thewritinggoblin
Summary: Delilah Bard is a thief and a pirate. A ship and it's crew recently did her wrong and while she isn't out for blood, she is out for revenge (and a little more).





	Just Watch Me Now

**Author's Note:**

> HEY! FIRST OFF! This might? Be spoilery? Probably. And takes place sometime after the events of A Conjuring Of Light. So read with caution? It's vague enough but that's on you! 
> 
> I actually really enjoyed writing this piece and it came to me a little more naturally than the first! So, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did - and my poor mother whom I read pieces to despite her having zero context for it!
> 
> DAY 2 - Explosion.

Delilah Bard is a pirate – a currently very comfortable pirate with her feet propped on someone else’s desk, in another Captain’s cabin, on another person’s ship. She tips her chin lower, letting Alucard’s hat cast her features further into shadow. Here and waiting she hums a song.

_How do you know when the Sarows is coming?  
(Is coming is coming is coming aboard?)_

Footsteps sounded above and soon she could hear their descent belowdecks. Her lips twitch with anticipation for the surprise her presence will bring. Lila’s had her eye on _The Firebird_ for quite some time. She’s even been studying the crew, drinking with them, making bets, playing _Sanct_ – though she still didn’t have a knack for the game and couldn’t quite grasp it – and when she could afford it, they followed their voyages. She was still a fresh enough face that she could pull stunts like this one. Though she would admit that this heist would likely be her easiest yet. _Never leave your ship unattended, Bard. That is very important. After all, what is a Captain without a ship? _Alucard had taught her that rule, and it made perfect sense. Apparently, not everyone followed that one, very vital rule.

“_Casero_.” Lila greets as the door swings open and a man practically built from stone stumbles in. She can feel a jump in her pulse as excitement and dread coil around each other in her veins, surging and fighting for dominance. It doesn’t take her long to observe her enemy; his cheeks are splotchy with color and his movements are sluggish – he’s been drinking. There’s a strange sweetness clinging to him that tells her he’s been to the local pleasure house on the harbor’s edge. She had no doubt that the rest of the crew were equally indisposed. And judging by the way his hands struggled to search his own person for a weapon, it was likely he either didn’t fear enough to keep one with him or had forgotten it someplace else.

But this was _his_ ship. He had nothing to fear. Should have nothing to fear. She watches the transition of surprise into fear and finally to anger. The latter is only emphasized as she lifts a knife that isn’t hers, dragging it lazily over the wood desk before her. While the men were out and gorging themselves on drink, hot food, and carnal desires – Delilah Bard, the thief, was pillaging their stocks and making note of anything she wanted and what her own crew could benefit from. Even her pockets were filled with coin. A few Arnesian maps were tucked into her belt including one she didn’t understand but couldn’t help swiping for her own. After all, she wasn’t going to stop until she’d seen it all.

“Who are you? Why are you on my ship?” Lila didn’t really think he was in any position to make demands…but what did she know? After all, it was still _his_ ship. For now. Sort of.

What he didn’t know was that while he and his crew were indulging themselves on the streets, half of _The Night Spire’s_ crew had crept onboard – hiding away under her own orders. And with just enough time and someone to tail and keep tabs on _The Firebird’s_ crew, they managed to transfer a few items from one ship to the other. A loud thud sounds above them, making the Captain give pause. A second one follows suit and his furious gaze turns back to Lila. She had started humming again.

“Me? I’m the Captain.” She drives the knife dead center into the wood.

“You have one more chance, state your name!” He growls back.

“_The Sarows_,” Lila replies just before kicking the desk forward, creating an obstacle between them when the man lunges for her. But it isn’t quite enough, and his cabin proves a smaller space than she is used to. _The Firebird_ was showy, a prize to look at, but lacked any of the amenities or even any sense of stealth that she would have picked; it can barely hold anything at all. It and its men were a problem. She feels the blow land and for a moment, her vision swims – the room darkening and growing fuzzy before she pivots out of reach. He was big and strong, but Lila was swift, lean, and has all the qualities of a thief. She knows how to be quick and where to make her marks count. She pries the knife free and throws it, savoring for a moment the sound of blade meeting flesh. He doesn’t cry out, but he does let out a soft grunt of annoyance. But Lila isn’t here to kill. Not tonight, and neither is her crew. Another thud sounds across the wood and several more with it. All around is a cacophony of sounds; metal catches on metal, fabric tears, bodies collide, and feet storm the ship.

“Captain Bard!” she hears one call out. The siege was a success.

“M’not scared of some fucking myth, and you don’t even live up to it.” He spits at her feet and starts for her again. But this time Lila is ready. She overpowers him and even manages to accidentally – truly it was unintentional – knock the man unconscious. But it’s the perfect opportunity to rope his hands and feet. With the help of her own crew she hoists him up to the deck and ties him to the main mast. At this point, _The Night Spire_ has overtaken _The Firebird_, and everything is as it should be.

“This isn’t all of the crew.” She observes the remaining bodies, nudging one with the toe of her weathered boots. She’ll need to replace them soon – but not until water truly soaks them through and they start to tear apart of course.

“They surrendered. Right off the boat – didn’t want anything to do with us.” _Didn’t want anything to do with you_. The words went unspoken, but her guess was that either the men had heard of _The Sarows_, or they had grown to like her company when she had covertly integrated herself among them. Either way, Lila nods. _Good;_ it makes everything easier. She lifts her gaze and sees the docks a short way in the distance. They cut the ropes just like she instructed. After all – they didn’t want to be held liable for the destruction of an important harbor, right? Though it would be worth word getting around and seeing the look on Kell’s face for it.

It takes a few moments of focus and sheer willpower. It takes a lot of power that both is and isn’t hers to have to make the boat dip the way it does. Violently, with the water surging and splashing across the wood at their feet. The dip and the cold spray rouse their sleepy Captain and she greets him with a grin before wiping the blood from her nose onto the sleeve of her coat. The back of her head hums with the beginnings of a headache, but she wasn’t planning to pull that little stunt again.

“You don’t look like you remember me – and I don’t mean from just a few moments ago when you thought you could throw me around like a doll.”

“_Pilse!_” he snaps back, spitting at her again. Lila tsks softly and taunts him further by drawing closer.

“Your crew have fled, your cargo has been stolen, and now your ship will burn. I still remember what you did to us a month ago. And while you’re lucky you only damaged our wares, I’m still not the forgiving type. This? This is a mercy, I promise you.” Lila motions with her hand and her own crew retreat to the small boats waiting to take them back to their own vessel. Two members of _The Firebird’s_ crew accompanied them – already sitting in one of the small boats – pledging their loyalty to her. Not to Delilah Bard, but to _The Sarows_, to their new Captain and a sea myth.

All over the deck’s surface is slick with a slightly yellow layer of oil. Again, Lila begins to hum her song and then begins to sing it. She slips a very small oyster shucking knife into the man’s hand. A chance. She didn’t doubt he would get free. Eventually.

_“How do you know when the Sarows is coming?  
(Is coming is coming is coming aboard?)”_

Fire licks at her fingertips, never quite burning. She feels the warmth, just that, but never the burn. Lila watches the fire dance in his eyes and sees his anger bleed away into fear. That’s when he begins to struggle and she directs the flames to the oil, the hum of magic and adrenaline singing to her, calling her to adventure.

_“Why you don’t and you don’t and you won’t see it coming,_

_(You won’t see it coming at all.)”_

_The Firebird _goes up in flames before it explodes – sending debris in every direction. It is a sight to behold from the safety of _The Night Spire_. And sure enough, she sees frantic splashing, and knows she had been right. The Captain escaped, but now he is both without a boat, and without a crew. He is reduced back to nothing but a man now. But Lila doesn’t doubt their paths will cross again. Fate or whatever it is, has a funny way of shaping things.

“Set sail! We’re going home.”

No further explanation was needed. Her crew no doubt wanted proper rest and to see their familiar streets, and have a drink at the Setting Sun. While she yearned to see Kell, to tell Alucard of their recent ventures, and of course to gift Rhy with a few gaudy pieces of jewelry that only he would appreciate, kept just for him. It felt good – to run towards something rather than away.

**Author's Note:**

> You made it this far! Wow! Thanks for giving it a read! If you'd like to listen to the two songs that helped me work through the writing process, they are as listed! 
> 
> Watch Me - The Phantoms  
Straight For The Kill - Unsecret (ft. Anna Renee)


End file.
